


The Team Machine Club

by fiona_apiston



Category: Person of Interest (TV), The Breakfast Club (1985)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Crossover, F/F, also shaw and carter's relationship is ooc since they're usually friends but not in this fic, i mean it is but a lot is changed, i mean later on they'll become friends but it doesn't start off that way, loosely based on the breakfast club
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-27
Updated: 2017-04-11
Packaged: 2018-10-10 23:18:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10449798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fiona_apiston/pseuds/fiona_apiston
Summary: Root was watching Shaw and Carter, and decided she wanted to join the conversation.  She walked over to them and spoke to Carter.  “Your first name is Jocelyn, your birth date’s March 7, you’re 5’4”, and your phone number is 2125550487.Carter looked at her in shock.  “Wow.  Are you psychic?”“No.”“Well, Root, do you mind telling us how you know all that about Carter?” Shaw asked.Root pulled a wallet out of her bag.  “I stole her wallet.”A Person of Interest and The Breakfast Club Crossover.





	1. Chapter 1

   Root walked into the library, clutching her computer bag to her chest.  She quickly walked to the back of the room and sat down.  She did a quick survey of the room, and saw that Harold, one of the smart kids, was sitting in front of her.  Two of the popular kids, Carter and John, were sitting in the front.  And sitting behind them was Shaw, Root’s only friend.  Well, friend might be stretching it.  Root definitely considered Shaw her friend, but she had no idea how Shaw felt about her.  They hung out together, but Shaw usually paid more attention to her knives than to Root.

   As for the other kids there, Harold was in a lot of her classes, and seemed nice, but also timid and easily stressed out, so she hadn’t ever talked to him.  Carter was pretty nice but hung out with the people who usually bullied Root.  Carter never did anything, but she also never stopped her friends, so Root wasn’t sure how to feel about her.  John’s friends also bullied her, but John had helped her get to the nurse’s office once after a particularly bad fight, so she liked him more.

   She looked up again and caught Harold looking at her.  He quickly looked away, so she looked over to Shaw.  She wasn’t looking anywhere near Root, so she sighed and looked at the desk again.  People who had previously sat at this desk had scratched words and phrases into it, like “I hate this”, and “school sucks”.  She really didn’t understand the point.  Writing it on the desks didn’t change anything, and all it did was waste their energy.

   Root was jolted out of her thoughts when the Principal, Mr. Greer, loudly walked in.

   “Well, well.  Here we are!  I want to congratulate all of you for being on time.”

   Carter raised her hand.  “Excuse me, sir?  I think there’s a mistake.  I know I have detention, but I don’t think I belong in here.”

   Mr. Greer ignored her and continued.  “It is now 7:06.  You have exactly eight hours and fifty-four minutes to think about why you’re here and to ponder the error of your ways.  You may not talk or move from your seats.”  Mr. Greer paused and pointed at Shaw.  “And you will not sleep.”  He then started to pass out some paper.  “We’re trying something different today.  You all will write an essay describing to me who you think you are.”

   “Is this a test?” Shaw asked sarcastically.

   Ignoring her, Mr. Greer continued, “And when I say essay, I mean essay.  Not a single word repeated.  Is that clear Ms. Shaw?”

   “Crystal,” Shaw said.

   “Good.  Maybe you’ll learn a little something about yourself.  Maybe you’ll even decide whether or not you care to return.”

   Harold raised his hand and stood up.  “You know, I can answer that right now, sir.  That would be no for me.”

   “Sit down, Mr. Finch.”

   “Thank you, sir,” Harold said, and sat down.

   “My office is across the hall.  Any questions?”

   Shaw sat up.  “Yeah, I have a question.  Does Barry Manilow know you raid his wardrobe?”

   Mr. Greer smiled a little.  “I’ll give you the answer to that question, Ms. Shaw, next Saturday.  Don’t mess with the bull, young lady.  You’ll get the horns.”  He turned and walked out of the library.

   “That man,” Shaw said, “Is a brownie hound.”

   Everyone started settling into their seats, trying to get comfortable, so Root pulled her computer out of her bag and put it on the table.  She noisily dropped her bag onto the ground, and everyone turned around to look at her.  Root ignored everyone except Shaw, and smiled at her.  “Hi, Shaw.”

   Shaw nodded at her.  “Hey.”

   John looked from Root to Shaw.  “You two know each other?”

   They nodded.

   John nodded, then turned back to face the front, as did everyone else.

   Root pretended to be on her computer, but really she watched everyone else and what they were doing.  Mostly Shaw, but she paid a little attention to the others too.

   Shaw and Harold both started taking their jackets off at the same time, so Harold quickly pulled his back on.  Shaw just stared at him the entire time she finished taking hers off.

  “It’s the shits, huh?”  Harold said.

   Shaw just stared at him.

   Harold awkwardly laughed and looked away.

   Shaw crumpled up her piece of paper and threw it across the library.

   John turned around and looked at Shaw.  “You shouldn’t do that.”

   “Why not?”

   “You’re going to get another detention.”

   “So?”

   Root had never seen Shaw and John have a conversation before, but she was almost certain all of their conversations went something like that.

   John sighed and was about to turn back around, but Carter turned around in her chair.  “You shouldn’t do that because you’ll get the rest of us in trouble.  And I do not want to come back here.”

   “You don’t want to come back to school?” Shaw feigned confusion.  “I’ve got some bad news for you.”

   Carter rolled her eyes.  “You know what I mean.”

   “I do?”

   John turned around yet again.  “Hey, Shaw, stop bothering Carter.”

   “You can’t boss me around, John,” Shaw said.  She turned back to Carter.  “What did you do to get in here?  Get an A- on a test?”

   Harold spoke up.  “Excuse me?  I think we should just write our papers.”

   Everyone ignored him.

   “Look, just because you live in here doesn’t give you the right to be a pain in the ass, so knock it off!”  Carter snapped.

   “It’s a free country,” Shaw said, pretending to be hurt.

   John turned to Carter.  “She’s just doing it to get a rise out of you.  Just ignore her.”

   Shaw interrupted him.  “So, are you two dating?”

   “Shaw, please stop,” John said.

   Shaw continued.  “Is John your boyfriend, Carter?  Are you his girlfriend?”

   John groaned and put his head in his hands.

   Carter, on the other hand, was completely pissed off.  She spun around and yelled, “Enough!”

   Shaw was about to respond, but then stopped as she heard Mr. Greer yell something from his office.


	2. Chapter 2

   Shaw got up from her chair and went to sit on the railing next to the bookshelves.  “How about we close that door?  We can’t have any kind of party with Greer checking us out every few seconds.”

   “Well, the door’s supposed to stay open,” Harold said.

   Shaw shrugged.  “So what?”

   “So why don’t you shut up!  There’s four other people in here, you know,” Carter said.

   “God, you can count.  See!  I knew you had to be smart to be in all those AP classes.”

   “Who the hell are you to judge anyone anyway?” Carter said.

   “Shaw, Carter,” John said, trying to get them to stop.

   Carter ignored him and continued, “You know Shaw, you don’t even count.  I mean, if you disappeared forever it wouldn’t make any difference.  You may as well not even exist at this school.”

   Shaw scoffed.  “Well then, I’ll just sign up for a bunch of AP classes next year.”

   Carter rolled her eyes.

   “Maybe prep club too, and student council.”

   Carter shook her head.  “No, they wouldn’t take you.”

   “I’m hurt,” Shaw said.

   “You know why people like you knock everything?  It’s because you’re afraid.”

  “Oh my god, those classes really are making you smarter!  That’s exactly why I don’t do any of those things!”

   “You’re a big coward!” Carter said.

   Root felt left out.  “I’m in computer club.”

   Everyone ignored her.  Carter continued, “You’re afraid that they won’t take you.  You don’t belong so you dump all over it.”

   “It wouldn’t have anything to do with all of you people being assholes now, would it?”  Shaw replied.

   “You wouldn’t know,” Carter said.  “You don’t even know any of us.”

   “Well, I don’t know any lepers either, but I’m not going to run out and join one of their fucking clubs.”

   “Language, Shaw,” John said.

   “It’s pretty fun,” Root said, still talking about computer club.

   Shaw turned to Carter and John.  “Hold on a second.”  She turned to Root.  “What are you talking about?”

   “I was just saying I’m in computer club, and it’s fun,” Root said.

   Shaw nodded and turned back to Carter.  “Hey, do you belong to computer club?”

   “No.”

   “Why not?”

   “Only loners like her join computer club.”

   “So, you’re above joining?”

   “Well…”

   Shaw pointed at Root.  “To people like her, computer club is the highlight of her day.”  She dropped her hand.  “What do you do in the club?”

   Root thought for a moment, then said, “We play computer games, make computer games, hack into servers, and hang out.”

   “See?  It’s fun for her,” Shaw said to Carter.

   Carter sighed.  “Whatever.”

   Shaw frowned at her.  “It’s not ‘whatever’.  Apologize to Root.”

   “For what?”

   “For insulting her club!”

   “I’m not-” Carter quickly stopped talking as they all heard Mr. Greer walking near the library doors.  Shaw jumped off the railing and sat down between John and Carter.  Mr. Greer went back into his office and Shaw got back up.  She headed over to the library doors.

   “I don’t think you should be going over there,” Harold said.

   Shaw turned around and pointed at Harold.  “Young man, have you finished your paper?”  She carefully unscrewed a screw from the door, and the door slammed shut.

   Harold looked worried.  “You know, that’s school property.  We’re not supposed to toy with it.”

   Shaw ran back to the tables and sat down in her seat, ignoring Harold.

   Carter was visibly annoyed.  “That’s very funny, come on, fix it!”

   “You should really fix that,” Harold agreed.

   Shaw just sat there.

   “Fix the door, Shaw!” Carter snapped.

   “Everybody just be quiet,” Shaw said.  “I’ve been here before, I know what I’m doing.”

   “No!  Fix the door, get up there and fix it!” Carter yelled.

   “Shut up!” Shaw hissed.

   Mr. Greer suddenly burst into the library.  “Why is that door closed?”

   Nobody said anything.

   Mr. Greer repeated, “Why is that door closed?”

   Shaw spoke.  “How are we supposed to know?  We’re not supposed to move, right?”

   Mr. Greer turned to John.  “Why?”

   John shrugged.  “We were just sitting here, like we’re supposed to.”

   Mr. Greer turned to Shaw.  “Who closed that door?”

   “I think a screw fell out of it,” Shaw replied.

   “It just closed, sir,” Carter said.

   Mr. Greer looked directly at Root.  “Who?”

   She shrugged and said nothing.

   He turned back to Shaw.  “Give me the screw.”

   “I don’t have it.”

   “Do you want me to yank you out of that seat and shake it out of you?”

   Shaw shook her head.  “I don’t have it.  Screws fall out all the time, the world’s an imperfect place.”

   “Give it to me.”

   “Excuse me, sir,” John said.  “Why would anybody steal a screw?”

   “Quiet, Mr. Reese,” Mr. Greer said.  He walked over to the door and tried propping it open with a folding chair.

   “The door’s too heavy,” Shaw said.

   The door slammed shut and Mr. Greer swore.  They all laughed, but stopped when he walked over and beckoned Carter to stand up.

   “Jocelyn Carter, get up here.”

   Carter nervously walked over.

   “Hey, how come Carter gets to get up?  If he gets up, we’ll all get up, it’ll be anarchy!”  Shaw yelled.

   Mr. Greer had Carter try to prop the door open with a magazine rack, but she couldn’t do it.  They walked back to the others, and Carter sat back down.

   Mr. Greer pointed at Shaw.  “You’re not fooling anybody, Shaw!  The next screw that falls out is going to be you!”  He turned to leave.

   Quietly, so quiet Root could barely hear it, Shaw whispered, “Eat my shorts."

   Mr. Greer turned back.  “What was that?”

   John turned to Shaw.  “Don’t,” he warned.

   Shaw ignored him and loudly said, “Eat my shorts!”

   “You just got another detention, young lady!” Mr. Greer said.

   “Oh, Christ,” Shaw said sarcastically.

   “You just got another one right there!”

   “Well, I’m free the Saturday after that, beyond that, I’m going to have to check my calendar!”

   “Good!  Because it’s going to be filled!  You want another one?  Just say the word!  Instead of going to prison, you’ll come here!  Are you done?”

   “No!”

   “I’m doing society a favor!”

   “So?”

   “That’s another one!  I’ve got you for the rest of your natural born life!  You want another one?”

   “Yes!”

   “You got another one!”

   Root was starting to get worried.  She knew John was too, and she could see him whispering to Shaw to stop it.  She leaned forward in her seat.  “Shaw!  Stop!”  She could tell Shaw heard her, and John, but decided to ignore both of them.

   “Are you done?” Mr. Greer asked.

   “Not even close,” Shaw replied.

   “Good!  You got one more, right there!”

   “Do you really think I give a shit?”

   “Another.”

   “How many is that?”

   Harold spoke up.  “That’s seven including the one when we first came in and you asked Mr. Greer whether Barry Manilow knew he raided his closet.”

   Mr. Greer turned to Shaw.  “”Now it’s eight.”  He turned to Harold.  “You stay out of it.”

   “Excuse me, it’s seven,” Harold said.

   “Shut up,” Mr. Greer snapped.  He turned back to Shaw.  “You’re mine, Shaw.  For two months, I got you!”

   “What can I say?  I’m thrilled!” Shaw said.

   Mr. Greer shook his head.  “Oh, I’m sure that’s exactly what you want these people to believe.  You know something, Shaw?  You ought to spend a little more time trying to do something with yourself and a little less time trying to impress people.  You might be better off.”  He paused, then turned to address the whole group.  “Alright, that’s it!  I’m going to be right outside those doors.  I better not have a reason to come back in for the rest of detention.”  With that, he left the library.

   Shaw scowled in his direction and mouthed “fuck you!”

   Root glanced at the clock.  It read a quarter to eight.  She turned back, and saw Shaw playing with her butterfly knife.  Harold was fidgeting and cleaning his glasses.  John was fixing the cuffs of his jacket.  Carter had her head on the desk and seemed to be deep in thought.  Root sighed and fooled around on her computer for a while, but finally got tired, laid her head on the desk, and fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

   Root woke up to Mr. Greer yelling at everyone to wake up.  She lifted her head slightly and saw that the others had also fallen asleep.

   “Who needs to go to the bathroom?” Mr. Greer asked.

   Everyone raised their hand.

 

   After making sure all five of them were back in the library after using the bathroom, Mr. Greer left.

   Shaw grabbed one of the books from the bookshelves and started ripping pages out of it.

   “Shaw, don’t do that,” John said.

   Shaw glared at him, but set the book down.  “Big deal.  Nothing to do when you’re locked in a vacancy.”

  “Speak for yourself,” Harold said, taking a book from his bag.

   Shaw raised her eyebrows.  “Do you think I’d speak for you?  I don’t even know your language!”

   Carter turned to John.  “Hey, are you grounded tonight?”

   “No,” John said.

   “There’s a big party at Zoe Morgan’s place.  Her parents are in Europe, so it should be pretty wild.”

   “Yeah?”

   “Yeah, can you go?”

   John shook his head.

   “Why not?”

   “My mom’s pretty stressed so I think I’ll stay home to help her out with housework.”

   “Why is your mom stressed?” Root asked.

   John seemed to tense up a little, and Root almost regretted asking it, but she did want to know.

   “My father passed away when I was younger, so she’s been struggling to support my and my sister.”

   “Oh,” Root said.

   “She yells at me sometimes, and gets angry, but I know it’s the stress so I try to help out when I can.”

   “Carter,” Shaw said.  “Do you get along with your parents?”

   Carter rolled her eyes.  “If I say yes, I’m an idiot, right?”

   Shaw shrugged.  “Well sure, but if you say you get along with your parents you’re a liar, too.”

   Shaw started to walk away, but Carter got up and spoke.

   “Why do you have to say stuff like that?  Can’t you just mind your own business?”

   Shaw pointed her middle finger at the ground.  “Can you hear this?  Do you want me to turn it up?”  She flipped her hand over so she was flipping Carter off.

   Harold tried to break the tension.  “Hey, I mean, I don’t really like my mom, I mean, I get along with my dad, but not with my mom.  I mean, her idea of parental compassion is just, you know, wacko!”

   Shaw shook her head.  “Look, you’re the perfect son.  The ultimate dweeb.  What would you be doing if you weren’t out making yourself a better citizen?”

   “Why do you have to insult everybody?” Carter asked.

   “I’m being honest!  I would expect you to know the difference!” Shaw said.

   “Yeah, well, he’s got a name!” Carter shot back.

   “Yeah?”

   “Yeah!”  Carter turned to Harold.  “What’s your name?”

   “Harold,” he said.

   “See?”  Carter said.

   “My condolences,” Shaw said to Harold.

   Harold turned around to face Root.  “What’s your name?”

   “Root.”

   “What kind of a name is Root?”

   “The kind that I chose for myself.”

   “What’s your real name?”

   Root swallowed hard, her palms starting to sweat.  “I, I don’t use that name.”

   “Why not?”

   Shaw walked over and glared at Harold.  “Stop it.  Leave her alone.”

   Harold yanked his arm away from her and opened his mouth to ask again.  

   “What did I say?  Leave her alone,” Shaw snapped.

   John got up out of his seat.  “Shaw.”

   “What, John?  Stop?  He knows she’s uncomfortable right now!”

   “I was just curious,” Harold said.

   “She said she doesn’t use her old name anymore.  Why would you need to know it?”

   “I, I,” Harold stammered.

   “Shaw,” John said.  He walked over and gently touched her arm.  “I get it.  I do.  But yelling at him isn’t going to solve anything.”

   “Shaw, I’m fine,” Root said.

   Shaw stood there for a moment, thinking it over, and finally started to walk away, then turned back.  “If you ever say anything to her about it again, you’ll regret it,” Shaw said.  She looked at Root.  “You okay?”

   Root nodded.

   Shaw nodded back.  “Okay, good.”  She went back to the railing, just as the janitor, Carl, walked in.

   “Harold, how are you doing?”  Carl asked.

   Harold looked over at Shaw, who was playing with a different switchblade.  “I’m, uh, well.”

   “Carl?”  Shaw asked.

   “What?”

   “Can I ask you a question?”

   “Sure.”

   “How does one become a janitor?”

   Carl raised an eyebrow.  “You want to become a janitor?”

   “No.  I just want to know how one becomes a janitor because Carter here is very interested in pursuing a career in the custodial arts.”

   Carl scowled.  “Oh, really?  You guys think I’m just some untouchable peasant?  Maybe so, but following a broom around after shitheads like you for the past eight years, I’ve learned a couple of things.  I look through your letters, I look through your lockers, I listen to your conversations.  You don’t know that but I do.  I am the eyes and ears of this institution, my friends.”  Carl started to leave, but then turned back.  “By the way, that clock’s twenty minutes fast.”

   Everyone except Shaw groaned; she smiled.

   Carter shook her head.  “Shit!”


	4. Chapter 4

   Everyone sat around, humming and trying to keep themselves entertained.

   Suddenly, Mr. Greer walked in.  “Alright, it’s lunchtime, you get thirty minutes to eat your food.”

   “Here?” Carter asked.

   “Here!” Mr. Greer said.

   “Well, I think the cafeteria would be a more suitable place for us to eat lunch in, sir!”

   “Well, I don’t care what you think, Carter!”

   Shaw interrupted their disagreement.  “Excuse me, will milk be made available to us?”

   “We’re extremely thirsty, sir,” John said.

   “I have a very low tolerance for dehydration,” Root said.

   John nodded.  “I’ve seen her dehydrate sir, it’s pretty gross.”

   Mr. Greer sighed.  “Okay, you,” he pointed at Shaw, “and you,” he pointed at Root, “will go get some drinks from the vending machine down the hall.”

 

   Shaw and Root were walking down the hall, side by side.  They had hung out before, but now there was an awkward silence between them.  Root tried to think of why that would be, and realized that Shaw had never done anything more than acknowledge her presence, and just a little while before, she had actually helped her, when Harold was making her uncomfortable.

   Finally, Shaw cleared her throat.  “So, uh, what’s your poison?”

   Root hid a smile and answered, “Vodka.”

   Shaw looked at her in disbelief.  “Vodka?  When the hell do you drink vodka?”

   Root shrugged.  “All the time.”

   Shaw didn’t look convinced, but she changed the subject.  “Why are you here today?  In detention?”

   “Why are you here?”

   Shaw laughed.  “Oh, you know, I threatened to stab some asshole, he reported me, principal searched my bag and found my knives.”

   Root nodded.  “Interesting.”  She walked over to stand in front of Shaw to keep her from walking away.  “Now why don’t you tell me the real reason you’re here?”

   “Forget it,” Shaw said, sidestepping Root and continuing down the hall.

 

   Carter, John, and Harold were sitting next to the bookshelves, waiting for Shaw and Root to come back.

   John turned to Carter.  “Hey, is it true you hooked up with Zoe Morgan at her last big party?”

   Carter raised her eyebrows.  “Why do you want to know?”

   John shrugged.  “I don’t know.  The silence was awkward.”

   “So your first instinct was to bring up my sex life?”

   “Yeah, and why not mine?  I mean, I don’t want to talk about it, but why Carter?”  Harold asked.

   John turned to him.  “It would be useless to ask you.  Everyone knows the only person you’ve been having sex with is Grace Hendricks.”  Then, he realized something and continued, “Wait, have you had sex with her?”

   Harold blushed, then said, “Well, yes.”

   “Was it good?” Carter asked.

   Harold nodded.

   “You never answered the question, Carter,” John said, changing the subject.

   Carter sighed, then said, “We didn’t have sex. We kissed for a little while, then we just watched Netflix the rest of the night.”

   John laughed.

   “What’s so funny?” Carter asked, a little annoyed.

    John shook his head.  “It’s just, everyone at that party was making bets on how many times you had sex, how many different ways you did it, and you didn’t even do it.”

   Carter stared at him.  “What?”

   John rolled his eyes.  “You were in her bedroom all night.  You didn’t think people would assume?”

   Carter sighed.

   John smiled sympathetically.  “It’s okay.  I think people have been forgetting about it.  It was weeks ago.”

   Carter nodded, but still looked a little worried.

   The library doors banged open, Shaw walking in first, followed by Root and an annoyed looking Mr. Greer.

   Mr. Greer walked to the front of the library.  “Everyone, go back to your seats.  You get one hour to eat.  Don’t get the carpet dirty.”  With that, he walked out of the library and back to his office.

   Everyone went back to their original seats.  Shaw and Root passed out the sodas they bought.

   “So,” Shaw said, leaning forward in her seat and talking to John and Carter.  “What did you two bring?”

   “What’d you bring?” Carter asked.

   Shaw held up a huge package.  “A sandwich.”

   Carter held up a smaller bag.  “Same.”

   Root also had a sandwich, and saw that John and Harold did too.  “You guys, we all have sandwiches.  Maybe we were destined to meet here, today.”

   “Sandwiches really aren’t an uncommon food,” Harold said.

   “I don’t care.  It’s destiny,” Root said, smiling.

   Harold shrugged.  “Okay.  Whatever you want to believe.”

   “So, Harold,” Shaw said.  “What are your parents like?  I feel like they’re perfect.  Do you have a perfect, cookie cutter, family?”

   “What about your parents, Shaw?” Carter asked before Harold could answer.  “I’m thinking they’re not that great, if they raised you, who gets detentions, what, every week?”

   Root knew Carter made a mistake.  Shaw had amazing parents, and they put up with Shaw despite her detentions and picking fights.  She glanced over at John, and could tell he was thinking the exact same thing as her.

   Shaw visibly stiffened.  “Don’t.  Talk.  About.  My.  Parents.”

   “Why not?  Are they that bad?”

   Shaw walked over to Carter and said,  “My parents are wonderful and I would like it if you didn’t talk about them.”

   “Or what?”  Carter challenged.

   Shaw started walking away.  “Or...I don’t think I need to sit here with you fucking dildos anymore!”  She climbed the side of the staircase up to the second floor of the library.

   John turned to Carter.  “You shouldn’t have said that.”

   “Yeah, I know now, but I didn’t realize parents were such a sore subject for her.”  Carter sighed.  “I won’t bring them up again.”

   “Good,” John said.


	5. Chapter 5

   Shaw peeked out of the window in the door in the library and saw Mr. Greer walking to the bathroom.  She beckoned for everyone to join her, and the other four quickly hurried over to her.  They quietly left the library and started following Shaw.

   Carter walked a little faster to catch up with Shaw, and Root followed behind.  Carter asked her, “How do you know where Mr. Greer went?”

   “I don’t,” Shaw replied.

   “Then, how do you know when he’ll be back?”  Carter asked.

   “I don’t,” Shaw said.  She grinned at Carter and Root. “Being bad feels pretty good, huh?”

   Carter gave a little sigh, and Root smiled back at Shaw.

   Harold turned to John.  “Why are we going to Shaw’s locker?”

   John shrugged.  “I don’t know.”

   Harold frowned.  “This is stupid.  Why are we risking getting caught?”

   John shrugged again.  “I don’t know.”

   “So then what are we doing?” Harold snapped.

   “You ask one more question, I’m making you go back to the library, and you don’t get to see what’s in Shaw’s locker,” John said calmly.

   “Sorry,” Harold murmured.

   They finally got to Shaw’s locker.

   Shaw opened her locker, and Carter grimaced in disgust.  “Slob.”

   “My maid’s on vacation,” Shaw said.  She pulled a bag of marijuana out of her locker.

   “Drugs,” Harold said, shocked.

   “Shaw, put that back!” Carter said.

   Shaw closed her locker and started walking away.

   Carter looked at Root.  Root shrugged and followed Shaw.  Carter shook her head but continued after them.

   “Come on,” John said to Harold.

   “But-” Harold was interrupted by John.

   “You don’t want to get caught by Mr. Greer, do you?”

   Harold sighed, and he and John ran to catch up with the other three.

   “So, we’ll cross through the lab, and then we’ll double back,” Shaw said.  “That’s how we’ll get back to the library.”

   “You better be right,” Carter said.

   They walked through the halls, narrowly missing Mr. Greer at some points, and managing to double back and avoid him.  They finally came to the freshman hallway.

   Shaw stopped walking.  “Wait!  Hold it!  We have to go through the cafeteria!”

   Carter frowned.  “No, the activities hall.”

   “You don’t know these hallways like I do.”

   “Yeah, I bet you know them well, always having to evade teachers and Mr. Greer!”

   Shaw was silent at that.

   Carter continued, “Now, we’re through listening to you.  We’re going this way.”

   They followed Carter all the way to a dead end.

   “Shit!” Carter swore.

   “Great idea, Carter,” Shaw said.

   “Fuck you!” Carter snapped.

   “Fuck you!” Root spoke to Carter.  “Why didn’t you listen to Shaw?”

   “We’re dead,” Harold groaned.

   Shaw shook her head.  “No, just me.”

   “What do you mean?” Root asked.

   “Get back to the library, and keep track of this,” Shaw said, stuffing the bag of marijuana into Harold’s pants.  She ran off, loudly singing.

   Root, Carter, John, and Harold ran back to the library, and got back into their seats.

   Shaw went to the gym, and started playing with a basketball someone must have left there.

   Mr. Greer walked in, and saw Shaw there.  “Shaw!  Shaw!  Shaw!  What is this?  What are you doing here, what is this?”

   “Oh, hi!” Shaw said.

   “Out!  That’s it, Shaw!  Out, it’s over!” Mr. Greer said.

   “Don’t you want to hear my excuse?” Shaw asked sarcastically.

   “Out!” Mr. Greer snapped.

   “I’m thinking of trying out for a scholarship,” Shaw explained.

   “Give me the ball, Shaw,” Mr. Greer said.

   Shaw pretended to throw the ball at Mr. Greer, then rolled it to him.  He grabbed it and then led Shaw back to the library.

   When they got back, Mr. Greer pushed Shaw towards her desk and said, “Get your stuff, let’s go!”  He turned to the other four.  “Miss Wiseguy here has taken it upon herself to go to the gymnasium.  I’m sorry to inform you, but you’re going to be without her services for the rest of the day.”

   “Boo-hoo,” Shaw said.

   “Everything’s a big joke, huh, Shaw?  The false alarm you pulled a few weeks ago?  False alarms are really funny, aren’t they?  What if your home, what if your family, what if your dope was on fire?”

   “Impossible, sir,” Shaw said, “it’s in Harold’s underwear.”

   Carter laughed.

   Mr. Greer turned to face Carter.  “You think she’s funny?  You think this is cute?  Let me tell you something.  You want to see something funny?  Go visit Sameen Shaw in five years!  You’ll see how funny she is!”  He turned to Shaw.  “Let’s go.  Now.”  He grabbed Shaw’s arm to pull her away.

   Shaw pulled away.  “Keep your fucking hands off me!”  She put her sunglasses on the desk in front of Carter.  “For better hallway vision.”  She walked out of the library, Mr. Greer following close behind.

 

   Shaw was sitting on a chair in a utility closet, and Mr. Greer was talking to her.

   “That’s the last time, Shaw.  That’s the last time you ever make me look bad in front of those kids, do you hear me?  I make $58,530 dollars a year and I have a home and I’m not about to throw it away on some punk like you.  But someday.  When you’re out of here and you’ve forgotten all about this place, and they’ve forgotten all about you and you’re wrapped up in your own pathetic life, I’m going to be there.  That’s right.  And I’m going to kick the living shit out of you, and I’m going to knock you into the dirt.”

   Shaw stared at him.  “Are you threatening me?”

   Mr. Greer smiled, but it wasn’t friendly.  “What are you going to do about it?  You think anybody’s going to believe you?  You think anybody’s going to take your word over mine?  I’m a man of respect around here.  They love me here.  I’m a swell guy, and you’re a lying sack of shit, and everybody knows it.  Oh, you’re real tough, aren’t you?  Come on, come on, get on your feet!  Let’s find out how tough you are!  I want to know right now, how tough you are!  Come on!  I’ll give you the first punch, let’s go!  Come on, right here, just take the first shot!  Please, I’m begging you, take a shot!  Come on, just take one shot, that’s all I need, just one swing.”

   Shaw just stared at Mr. Greer.  He pretend to hit her and she flinched.

   Mr. Greer shook his head.  “That’s what I thought!  You’re a gutless turd!”  He left the closet and locked the door.

   Shaw waited a moment, then climbed to the ceiling of the closet, pulled one of the ceiling tiles off, and climbed into the ceiling.  She started crawling in the direction of the library.  She got pretty far, and then suddenly the ceiling gave way and she fell through and screamed.  “Oh shit!”

   Shaw landed on the second floor of the library.  She ran down the stairs to the desks, where Carter, John, and Harold were staring at her with open mouths.  Root was smiling at her like she had known all along Shaw would do something like this.

   Shaw shrugged.  “I forgot my pencil.”

   Five heads turned to the doors when they heard Mr. Greer’s footsteps heading over to them.  Shaw hid under the desk next to Root.

   Mr. Greer stormed in.  “What was that ruckus?”

   “What ruckus?” Carter asked.

   “I was just in my office and I heard a ruckus!” Mr. Greer said.

   “Could you describe the ruckus, sir?” Harold asked.

   “Watch your tongue, young man, watch it!”  Mr. Greer snapped.

   Root looked down to where Shaw was on the floor next to her and smiled at her.  Shaw rolled her eyes and tried to sit up, banged her head on the desk, and groaned.

   Root quickly started fake coughing to cover up the noise.  Carter, John, and Harold joined in.

   “What was that?  What was that noise?”  Mr. Greer asked.

   “What noise?” Carter asked.

   “The noise you four are trying to cover up!”

   “Really, sir, there wasn’t any noise,” John said.

   Mr. Greer looked at each of them, but nobody said anything.  “Fine.  I didn’t catch you this time, but you can bet next time I will.”  He looked them over again, and then left.

   Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, except Root.  She helped Shaw out from under the desk and looked at her in concern.

   “Are you okay?” Root asked.

   Shaw nodded.  “I’m okay.”  She stood there for a few seconds longer than necessary, with Root’s hands on her arms, and then walked over to Harold.

   “Give me my weed back.”

   Harold pulled the bag out and handed it to Shaw.  She started walking to the back of the library.

   “Shaw, you’re going to blaze up in here!” Carter yelled.

   Root got up and followed Shaw, and so did John.  Harold got up a few seconds later, and Carter sighed and went to join them.

 

   The five of them were sitting in a circle and laughing hysterically.

   Shaw lit Carter’s joint and Carter started coughing after her first drag.

   John laughed, exhaled, and tried to eat the smoke.

   Harold took a drag and started talking in a weird voice.  “Chicks, cannot hold their smoke!  That’s what it is!”

   John shook his head.  “Do you know how popular I am?  I’m so popular, everybody loves me so much, at this school.”

   Shaw snorted.  “Poor John.”

   Harold waved at Carter and fell over.

   Root sat there quietly, observing everyone and only smoking a little bit.

 

   Mr. Greer was in the school basement, going through the confidential files.  Carl walked in and saw him.  “Afternoon, John.”

   Mr. Greer looked up.  “Hey, Carl, how are you?”

   “Good.”

   “Good, what’s up?”

   “Not much.  What’s happening?  What are you doing in the basement files?”

   “Oh, nothing.  I’m just doing a little homework here.”

   “Homework, huh?”

   “Yeah.”

   Came walked over and looked closer at the files Mr Greer was going through.  “Confidential files, huh?”

   Mr. Greer closed the file and looked up.  “Look, Carl, this is a highly sensitive area and I tell you something, certain people would be very embarrassed.  I would really appreciate it if this would be something that you and I could keep between us.”

   “What are you going to do for me?”

   “Well, what would you like?”

   “Got fifty bucks?”

   Mr. Greer was shocked.  “What?”

   Carl shrugged.  “Fifty bucks.”

   Mr. Greer sighed, then pulled fifty bucks out of his wallet and handed them to Carl.


	6. Chapter 6

   Shaw and Carter were sitting on the couch in the back of the library, talking and laughing.

   “So, if Carter is your last name, what’s your first name?” Shaw asked.

   “Guess,” Carter said.

   Root was watching Shaw and Carter, and decided she wanted to join the conversation.  She walked over to them and spoke to Carter.  “Your first name is Jocelyn, your birth date’s March 7, you’re 5’4”, and your phone number is 2125550487.

   Carter looked at her in shock.  “Wow.  Are you psychic?”

   “No.”

   “Well, Root, do you mind telling us how you know all that about Carter?” Shaw asked.

   Root pulled a wallet out of her bag.  “I stole her wallet.”

   “Give that back!” Carter said.

   “No.”

   “Give it!”

   Root handed the wallet to Carter.  She flipped through it, making sure Root didn’t take anything.  “Great, you’re a thief too, huh?”

   “I’m not a thief,” Root said.

   Shaw snorted.  “Yeah, right.”

   “I’m multi-talented,” Root said.

   Carter rolled her eyes.  “Multi-talented?”

   “What’s there to steal?  There’s like, five dollars in there.”

   “You went through my money?”

   Root raised an eyebrow.  “You wouldn’t?”

   Carter opened her mouth but said nothing.  Shaw grinned at Root, and she smiled back.

 

   Harold and John were sitting on the desks and talking.

   “So, how do you know Shaw?” Harold asked.

   “We met in elementary school, and we’ve been friends ever since.”

   “I’ve never seen you two hang out together in school.”

   “We don’t,” John said.  “I usually hang out with her outside of school, and sometimes we skip class together and hang out.”

   “You’re not scared of her?”

   John laughed.  “You are?”

   Harold blushed a little.  “She’s scary.”

   “She’s only scary if you get on her bad side.  Don’t tell her I’m telling you this, but she can be really nice.”

   Harold stared at him.  “I don’t know if I believe you.”

   John shrugged.  “Believe it or not, it’s true.”

   Harold was silent, then changed the subject.  “What’s up with Shaw and Root?  Is there something going on there?”

   “I actually don’t know,” John said.  “I’ve tried talking to Shaw about it but she avoids the subject, and I don’t talk to Root a lot.”

   Harold looked surprised.  “I thought you three were all friends.”

   John shook his head.  “Root is still a mystery to me.  But she’s Shaw’s friend, so I’m cool with her.”

   Harold nodded, and they were both quiet for some time.

 

   Carter looked through Shaw’s wallet.  She pulled out a fake ID.  “Woah, this is a really good fake ID,” Carter said, looking impressed.

   Shaw smiled.  “I can get you one, if you want.”

   Carter looked up, surprised at Shaw being nice.

   Shaw continued, “Of course, I don’t know what you’re going to do with it, considering the fact that you must spend all your time on schoolwork, but if you want one…”

   Carter threw the wallet back at Shaw.  “I knew you were being too nice to be sincere.”

   “Shaw can be nice,” Root protested.

   “Don’t blow my cover, Root,” Shaw said.  She turned to Carter.  “I’m never nice.”

   Behind Shaw’s back, Root mouthed at Carter, _ she can be nice. _

   Carter grinned at Root, then turned back to Shaw and said, “Yeah.  Right.”

   Shaw changed the subject.  “What’s in your bag, Root?”

   Root pulled her computer out, then dumped the rest of her stuff onto the couch.

   “Holy shit!  What is all that stuff?” Carter asked.

   “Do you always carry this much shit in your bag, Root?” Shaw asked.

   “Yes, Shaw,” Root answered.  “I do always carry this much shit in my bag.  You never know when you may have to jam.”

   “Are you going to be, like, one of those faceless hackers that are always wanted by the FBI?”  Carter asked.  “And you live in abandoned buildings or on the streets?”

   Root shrugged.  “I’ll do what I have to do.”

   “Why do you have to do anything?”  Carter asked.

   “My home life is unsatisfying.”

   “So you’re saying you’d subject yourself to the violent dangers of the New York streets because your home life is unsatisfying?”

   “I don’t have to run away and live in the street,” Root said.  “I can get one of those high rise apartments, or a penthouse suite, or a little cottage in the country.  The possibilities are endless.”

   Carter stared at Root, and then turned to Shaw.  “You want to get in on this?  Root here says she wants to run away because her home life is unsatisfying.”

   “Well, everyone’s home lives are unsatisfying.  If they weren’t, people would live with their parents forever,” Shaw replied.

   Carter nodded..  “I understand.  But I think her’s goes beyond, you know, what’s usually considered unsatisfying.”

   Root started putting her stuff back in her purse.  “Never mind, forget it, everything’s cool.”

   “What’s the deal?” Shaw asked.

   “No!  There’s no deal, Shaw.  Forget it, leave me alone.”

   “Wait a minute.  You’re carrying all that crap around in your bag.  Either you really want to run away or you want people to think you want to run away,” Shaw said.

   “Eat shit!” Root said, before getting up and walking away.

   Shaw looked at Carter.  “That girl is an island, with herself,” Carter said.

   Shaw got up. “Yeah, and she’s also my friend.”  She walked over to where Root was standing.  “Hey, do you want to talk?”

   “No!” Root said.

   “Why not?”

   “Go away.”

   “Where do you want me to go?”

   “Go away!”

   Shaw scowled.  “Look, you’re the one who dumped your purse out on the couch and invited people into your problems.  So, what’s wrong?  What is it?  Is it bad?  Real bad?  Parents?”

   Root was crying quietly.  “Yeah.”

   Shaw nodded.  “What do they do to you?”

   “They ignore me,” Root whispered.

   Shaw nodded, and hesitantly took Root’s hand.  Root held it tightly, a look in her eyes saying  _ thank you _ to Shaw.

 

   Mr. Greer and Carl were sitting and talking together in the basement.

   “What did you want to be when you were younger?” Mr. Greer asked.

   Carl thought for a moment.  “When I was a kid, I wanted to be John Lennon.”

   “Carl, don’t joke around.  I’m trying to make a serious point here.  I’ve been teaching for twenty two years and each year, these kids get more and more arrogant,” Mr. Greer said.

   Carl shook his head.  “Bullshit, man.  Come on, John, the kids haven’t changed, you have.  You took a teaching position because you thought it would be fun, right?  Thought you could have summer vacations off, and then you found out it was actually work, and that really bummed you out,” Carl responded.

   “These kids turned on me.  They think I’m a big fucking joke.”

   “Come on, listen John.  If you were sixteen, what would you think of you, huh?”

   “Do you think I give one rat’s ass what these kids think of me?”

   “Yes, I do.”

   Mr. Greer shook his head.  “You think about this.  When you and I get old, these kids are going to be running the country.”

   “Yeah?”

   “Now, this is the thought that wakes me up in the middle of the night.  That when I get older, these kids are going to take care of me,” Mr. Greer continued.

   Carl snorted.  “I wouldn’t count on it!”

   Mr. Greer pondered that statement for a moment.


	7. Chapter 7

   Root, Shaw, Carter, John, and Harold were sitting in a circle on the floor of the library.

   “What would I do for a million bucks?  Well, I guess I’d do as little as I had to,” John said.

   “That’s boring,” Carter said.

   “Well, how am I supposed to answer?”

   “The idea is to search your mind for the absolute limit,” Carter explained.  “Like, would you drive to school naked?”

   “Would I have to get out of the car?”

   “Of course.”

   “In the spring or winter?”

   “It doesn’t matter.  Spring.”

   “In the front of the school or back of the school?”

   “Either one.”

   John thought for a few moments.  “Yes.”

   “I’d do that,” Root said.  They all looked at her.  “I’d do anything sexual, I don’t need a million dollars to do it either.”

   “You’re lying,” Carter said.

   Root shook her head.  “I’ve done a lot of things already, too.”  She studied Carter.  “Have you ever done it?”

   “Why does that matter?”

   “I just want to know,” Root said.

   Carter shook her head.  “Look, I’m not going to discuss my private life with total strangers.”

   “It’s kind of a double-edged sword, isn’t it?”  Root asked.

   “A what?”  Carter asked.

   “Well, if you say you haven’t, you’re a prude.  If you say you have, you’re a slut.  It’s a trap.  You want to but you can’t, but when you do you wish you didn’t, right?” Root said.

   “Wrong,” Carter said.  She sighed.  “Why don’t you just forget it?”

   “No,” Shaw said.  “Now I’m curious.  Have you had sex before?”

   “I’m not answering that!”

   “It’s not a big deal,” John said.

   Carter rolled her eyes.  “Says the guy who’s done it multiple times.”

   “Just tell us,” Shaw said.

   Carter groaned.  “Fine!  I’ve never done it!”

   “I’ve never done it either,” Root admitted. “I’m a compulsive liar.”

   Carter stared at her. “You are such a bitch!  You said that on purpose just to fuck me over!”

   “I would do it, though.  If you love someone, it’s okay,” Root.

   “I can’t believe you.  You’re so weird.  You barely say anything all day and then when we talk you just say a bunch of lies!”

   “You’re just mad because she got you to admit something you didn’t want to admit,” John said.

   “Okay, fine,” Carter conceded.  “But that doesn’t make it any less bizarre.”

   “What’s bizarre?  I mean, we’re all pretty bizarre!  Some of us are just better at hiding it, that’s all,” John said.

   “How are you bizarre?”

   Shaw spoke up.  “He’s part of the popular group, you know, what everyone wants to be a part of, and he hates it.”

   John nodded.  “Do you know what I did to get in here?”

   Everyone except for Shaw shook their heads.

   “I cut class to hang out with Shaw.”

   Carter looked surprised.  “Seriously?”

   “Yeah.  I don’t like hanging out with my “friends”.  Shaw’s really my only real friend.”  John glanced at Root.  “And Root too, I suppose, by association.”  He sighed.  “But, my parents like the people I hang out with.  They’re always encouraging me to go with them, and I just, don’t want to.  And I want to tell them that I don’t like them, but I’m a coward, and then I get ashamed of myself that I can’t tell them who I’m really friends with.”

   Harold nodded.  “It’s like me, you know, with my grades.  Like, when I step outside myself and look in at myself, you know?  And I see me and I don’t like what I see, I really don’t.”

   “What’s wrong with you?  Why don’t you like yourself?” Carter asked.

   “Because I’m stupid.  I’m failing shop.  See, we had this assignment, to make this ceramic elephant and we had eight weeks to do it and it was supposed to be a lamp, and when you pull the trunk the light was supposed to go on.  My light didn’t go on, and I got an F on it.  I’ve never got an F in my life.  When I signed up, you know, for the course, I thought I was playing it smart because I thought I’d take shop because it would be an easy way to maintain my grade point average.

   “Why’d you think it would be easy?” Shaw asked.

   “Have you seen some of the dopes that take shop?” Harold responded.

   “I take shop.  You must be a fucking idiot!”

   “I’m a fucking idiot because I can’t make a lamp?”

   “No, you’re a genius because you can’t make a lamp,” Shaw said sarcastically.

   “What do you know about trigonometry?” Harold challenged.

   “I could care less about trigonometry.”

   “Shaw, did you know without trigonometry there’d be no engineering?”

   “Without lamps, there’d be no light!”

   “Okay, so neither of you is any better than the other one,” John said, trying to keep Harold and Shaw from fighting.

   Carter, also trying to calm them down, said, “I can play the piano really well.”

   “I can make spaghetti,” Harold said.

   Carter turned to John.  “What can you do?”

   “I can disappoint my parents,” John offered.

   Carter nodded, then turned to Root.  “I want to see what Root can do!”

   Root shrugged.  “I can hack your accounts.”

   “No, we already know about that.  Isn’t there anything else you can do?” Carter persisted.

   Root thought for a moment.  “There’s one thing I can do.”  She shook her head.  “No, forget it, it’s too embarrassing.”

   “Come on, just do it,” Carter said.

   “Okay, but you have to swear to God you won’t laugh.”  Root took a lipstick out of her bag.  “I can’t believe I’m actually doing this.”  She opened the lipstick, put in between her breasts, and ducked her head down.  She brought her head back up with perfectly applied lipstick.

   Everyone applauded.  Carter’s applause was sarcastic and slow.

   John smiled.  “All right, great!  Where’d you learn to do that?”

   Root blushed.  “Camp, seventh grade.”

   “That was great, Root,” Carter said.  “My image of you is totally blown.”

   Shaw spun to face Carter.  “You’re a shit!  Don’t do that!  You swore to God you wouldn’t laugh!”

   “You know what, Shaw, why do you even care about my opinion?  I’m nothing to you, right?”

   Shaw laughed sarcastically.  “I thought it was the other way around.  I mean, I don’t even count, right?  I could disappear forever and it wouldn’t make any difference.  I may as well not even exist at this school, remember?”

    Carter was silent.  “I didn’t mean-”

   “Sure you did,” Shaw said.  “Just like how you laughed at Root.”

   “My God, are we all going to be assholes when we grow up?” John asked.

   “I hope not,” Harold said.

   “It’s unavoidable, it just happens,” Root said.

   “What happens?” Harold asked.

   “When you grow up, your heart dies.”

   “Root, no offense, but who cares?” Shaw said.

   Root looked at her, eyes full of tears.  “I care.”

   Harold spoke.  “Um, I was just thinking.  I know it’s kind of a weird time, but I was just wondering, what is going to happen to us on Monday?  When we’re all together again?  I mean I consider you guys my friends.  I’m not wrong, am I?”

   “No,” John said.

   “So, on Monday, what happens?”

   “Are we still friends, you mean?” Carter asked.  “If we’re friends now, that is?”

   Harold nodded.  “Yeah.”

   “Do you want the truth?” Carter said.

   Harold nodded.  “Yeah, I want the truth.”

   “Besides John, I don’t think so.”

   “Well, do you mean all of us or just Shaw?” Root asked.

   “With all of you.”

   “That’s a real nice attitude, Carter,” John said.

   Carter shook her head.  “I know you’re friends with Shaw, Root, and me, John, but what if Harold walked up to you in the middle of the hallway?  If you can’t even talk to Root or Shaw during school because of your “friends”, how would you be able to talk to Harold?”

   “I could stand up to my parents and “friends”,” John said.

   “Why haven’t you?”

   “I could.”

   “But would you?  Face it, John.  You would ignore Shaw, Root, or Harold if they started talking to you.”

   “You are a bitch,” John said, tears in his eyes.

   Carter raised her eyebrows.  “Why?  Because I’m telling the truth, that makes me a bitch?”

   “No!  Because you know how shitty that is to do that to someone!  And you don’t have the balls to stand up to your friends and tell them that you’re going to like who you want to like!”

 John shook his head.  “Okay, what about you, you hypocrite!  Why don’t you eat lunch with Root?  Or invite Harold to one of your study sessions?  Or hang out with Shaw?  You wouldn’t do that because of your friends.”

   Carter frowned.  “Maybe I would, John.  Maybe you don’t know me as well as you think.”

   Shaw laughed scornfully.  “Oh, really, Carter?  So, can I hang out with you and your friends before school Monday?”  Carter was silent.  “That’s what I thought.”

   Everyone was quiet, then Harold said, “Then I assume Root and I are better people than you guys, huh?”  He turned to Root.  “Would you do that to me?”

   Root shrugged.  “I don’t have any friends other than Shaw.”

   “Well, if you did?”

   “No.  I don’t think the kind of friends I’d have would mind.”

   Harold turned to face all of them.  “I just want to tell each of you, that I wouldn’t do that, because it would be real shitty.”

   “Your friends wouldn’t mind because they look up to us,” Carter said.

   Harold laughed.  “You’re so conceited, Carter.  You’re so, like, full of yourself.  Why are you like that?”

   Carter’s eyes filled with tears.  “I’m not saying that to be conceited!  I hate it!  I hate having to go along with everything my friends say!”

   “Well, then, why do you do it?” Harold asked.

   “I don’t know.  You don’t understand.  You’re not friends with the same kind of people John and I are friends with!  You know, you just don’t understand the pressure that they can put on you,” Carter said.

   Harold stared at her.  “I don’t understand what?  You think I don’t understand pressure?  Well fuck you!  Fuck you!”  He started crying.  “Do you know why I’m here today?  Do you?  I’m here because Mr. Ryan found a gun in my locker.”

   “Why’d you have a gun in your locker?” John asked.

   Harold shook his head.  “I tried.  You pull the fucking trunk on it and the light’s supposed to go on, and it didn’t go on.”

   “What’s the gun for, Harold?” John asked.

   “Just forget it.”

   “You brought it up!”

   Harold stared at the floor.  “I can’t have an F.  I can’t have it, and I know my parents can’t have it!  Even if I aced the rest of the semester, I’m still only a B.  And everything’s ruined for me!”

   “Oh, Harold,” Carter said softly.

   “So, I considered my options, you know?”

   “No!  Killing yourself is not an option!”

   “Well, I didn’t do it, did I?  No, I don’t think so!”

   “Was it a handgun?” Root asked.

   “No, it was a flare gun,” Harold said, “And it went off in my locker.”

   “Really?” John started laughing.

   “It’s not funny,” Harold said, but he was starting to smile.  Everyone, including him, started laughing.  He shook his head.  “Yes it is, fucking elephant was destroyed!”

   “You want to know what I did to get in here?” Root asked.  “Nothing, I didn’t have anything better to do.”

   Everyone laughed.

   “You’re laughing at me,” Root said.

   “No,” Shaw protested, but she was giggling.

   Root joined her in laughing.  “Yes you are!”


	8. Chapter 8

   Harold searched the library for a while, and found some records and a record player, and started playing one.

   Carter, Root, and Harold danced.  Eventually, encouraged by Root, Shaw danced too.  Only John wasn’t dancing, and they all tried to get him to join them.  Finally, Shaw dragged him out of his chair and got him to dance a little.

   When the song ended, Shaw got back up into the vent, with a little help from the others, and crawled back to the closet.

   Root, John, Carter, and Harold all were sitting on the railing, waiting for the end of detention.

   Carter turned to Harold.  “Harold?”

   “Yeah?”

   “Are you going to write your paper?”

   “Yeah, why?”

   “Well, it’s kind of a waste for all of us to write our paper, don’t you think?”

   “But, that’s what Mr. Greer wants us to do.”

   “True, but I think we’d all kind of say the same thing.”

   Harold rolled his eyes.  “You just don’t want to write your paper, right?”

   “True, but you’re the smartest, right?”

   “I’m pretty sure you’re the smartest.”

   “Well, okay, but you’re probably better at writing.”

   “Well…”

   “We trust you,” Carter said.  John and Root nodded.

   Harold sighed.  “All right, I’ll do it.”

   “Great,” Carter said, smiling.  She looked over at Root, who looked sad.  “Hey, what’s wrong?”

   Root looked up.  “Oh, nothing.”

   John studied her.  “Is it Shaw?”

   Root didn’t say or do anything for a few moments, but then nodded.

   “What can we do?” Carter asked.

   Root shrugged.  “What can you do?”

   John turned to Carter.  “We’re going to distract Mr. Greer so Root can go see Shaw.”

   “How do you know where to find her?” Carter asked.

   “This isn’t the first time Shaw has had to be separated in detention.” John turned to Root.  “You know where to go, right?”

   Root nodded.

   John hopped off the railing, and gestured for Carter and Root to follow him.  He then proceeded to pretend to be very sick, with Carter helping him to Mr. Greer’s office.  While Mr. Greer was occupied, Root slipped off to find the closet Shaw was in.  She found the closet, unlocked the door, and walked in, closing the door behind her.

   Shaw looked up, surprised.  “You lost?”

   Root just looked at her and smiled.

   Shaw smiled back.

   Root stood there nervously, not sure what to do.

   Shaw stood up, walked over to her, and kissed her, gently at first, and then harder as Root deepened it.  They broke apart, and Root asked, “Why’d you do that?”

   “Because I knew you wouldn’t,” Shaw replied.

   Root grinned and kissed Shaw again.

   They stayed together in the closet until there were only a few minutes until detention was over.  Then, Root went back to the library.  Mr. Greer let Shaw out of the closet, and she joined the other four.  Root walked over to her and casually linked arms with her.  The five of them walked down the hallway to the front of the school.  Carl was there, cleaning the floors.

   Carl looked over at Harold.  “See you, Harold.”

   “Hey, Carl,” Harold said in response.

   Shaw smiled.  “See you next Saturday.”

   “You bet!” Carl said.

   They continued walking out the front door, to parking lot.

   Harold, Carter, and John said goodbye to Root and Shaw and left in one of their parents’ cars.

   Shaw glanced over to the one car left in the parking lot.  “My mom’s here.”

   Root nodded.  “Bye, Shaw.”  She started to walk in the direction of her home.

   “Wait.” Shaw grabbed her arm.  “I’ll see you Monday.”

   Root smiled.  “I’ll see you Monday.”

   Shaw went to her mother’s car, and Root walked off.

 

   Back in the library, Mr. Greer picked up Harold’s essay and started reading it.  It said:

   Dear Mr. Greer,

   We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong.  But we think you’re crazy to make an essay telling you who we think we are.  You see as you want to see us, in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions.  But what we found out if that each one of us is a brain, and an athlete, and a basket case, a princess, and a criminal.  Does that answer your question?

   Sincerely yours,

   The Breakfast Club

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr! My username is neonsapphics


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